


how to love a lover

by aftersome



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26334811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aftersome/pseuds/aftersome
Summary: It’s a tricky thing, to love a lover.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	how to love a lover

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i took a little break from writing the first installment of my kuroatsu series, so i wrote this! (of course it also has to be kuroatsu lol)

It’s a tricky thing, to love a lover. They’d bring you stars from the night sky and weave them in your hair. Capture the entirety of the universe in the palm of their hand. Should you be captured by the devil, they’d brave the brimstone and flames of hell to bring you back in their embrace. Lovers know how to read you: make you hot chocolate when you're sad, hug you when you’re happy, talk you down when you’re angry. Lovers don’t touch you when you need space. Don’t force you in situations that bring you discomfort. Remember your birthdays when no one else did, share their food with you when you have nothing to eat, lift you up when you’re pulling yourself down. 

All lovers do is love.

It’s a tricky thing, to love a lover. To be showered with endless affection and not being expected to give anything in return. It’s tricky in the way that it often makes one feel inadequate. Of course, that is not what the lover’s intention is, but there are times where intentions don’t matter when it comes to perception.

And yet… it is also a tricky thing to not love a lover.

Kuroo Tetsurou is a lover in the way that he does what is best for everyone he loves. He is a guardian, of sorts, and sometimes he feels as if he exists only to heal and to have and to hold. He is, of course, his own person. He has his own mind, his own character. He lives for himself, and he breathes for himself. But he loves supporting others, thrives in it. It is simply in his nature. He doesn’t push, doesn’t shove, but he’ll be there behind you. A constant presence that will bow his head at the call.

It’s one of the things Atsumu loves most about him, his lover. 

“Palladium is the most valuable for the four major precious metals,” Kuroo says. “More expensive gold! It’s also very useful! Did you know that it helps turn toxic pollutants in exhaust systems into less-harmful carbon dioxide and water vapour? It’s also used for electronics and technology and jewelry and photography and dentistry— I just— I don’t understand why you would prefer any other metal.”

“Gold is pretty,” Atsumu reasons with a laugh, shrugging. “It matches my hair. And my Jackals jersey.”

“I hate you,” Kuroo mutters. “An utter disgrace.”

Atsumu laughs again. He pauses the movie and turns to Kuroo, discarding the laptop on his side of the bed. “Alright,” he says, “tell me what you love about that metal so much.”

Lovers are passionate and kind. Once they set their mind on something, they will do everything in their power to accomplish it. They don’t stomp on others and respect greatness when they see it. Their love isn’t solely for people; it also extends to sports or chemistry or cooking or pets. It’s a kind of power, loving. To love with pride and to love with your all. To love with kindness and all the fervor of a supernova. It swells like the universe after the Big Bang in Kuroo’s chest, spreads throughout his body like liquid fire.

Love is the blood in his veins. And it flows without stopping.

Kuroo Tetsurou is a captivating man. There is fondness in his eyes, a kind of brightness that not even Sirius can match, and it’s one that you can’t bring yourself to look away from. Mesmerizing in a taunting light — he’s one that people would eat cinders for. There’s also something else in his gaze: flames of ardor licking at his irises, tracing every millimeter of atoms lining his eyes. It’s strong and determined. It’s love.

“Like I said, it’s very useful,” Kuroo says, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “Also very rare, because supply is low, but the demand is high. It’s applied in lots of things: watch making, aircraft spark plugs, surgical instruments, electrical contacts, blood sugar test strips, and making professional transverse flutes. When finely divided, palladium forms a versatile catalyst. Basically, it speeds up processes like hydrogenation and petroleum cracking.”

“You’re much like palladium, then,” Atsumu says. “Is that why you like it so much? Why you’re so fascinated by it?”

“I’m like palladium?” Kuroo asks. “How?”

Kuroo Tetsurou is a lover. He’s warm and valuable. A precious gem that cannot be replaced. He knows how to handle things without leaving collateral damage in his wake. He knows how to work with his hands, knows every single crack in the earth, knows every blade of grass, knows the message of every ocean wave, knows the right places to touch Atsumu when the world is all skin and bedsheets. He sings the hymn of birds and hums the song of metals. He’s rare, in every sense of the word. One of a kind. 

“Well, for one,” Atsumu begins, “your demand is very high, but the supply is very low.” When Kuroo releases a barking laugh, he adds, “You’re my rare gem.”

“Actually,” Kuroo intejects, “it should be metal, since you’re comparing me to palladium, which is a metal.”

Atsumu presses his lips to Kuroo’s, tasting him, finding home in the cavern of his mouth. “Shut up,” he murmurs against Kuroo’s lips when they break apart.

“What else?” Kuroo whispers.

Kuroo Tetsurou is a lover. He’s a catalyst, an enabler of all things good and right, Should he dissipate into thin air, Earth will no longer revolve around the sun, which, in turn, fades away into black. There will be no day and night. Only all that is not. The world will be wrong, without Kuroo, and it is because of him that things fall into place.

“What was the word you used?” Atsumu says. “A catalyst. Yes. That’s you. You were the one who brought me to the Jackals, weren’t you? And now I’m with the best teammates I could have ever asked for. I’m on top of the world. And it’s because of you.”

“You give me too much credit,” Kuroo jokes. 

“Shut it,” Atsumu says. “Just take it, will you?”

“Okay,” Kuroo says, smile gracing his lips. “I love you.”

“I know,” Atsumu says honestly, because he does. “Love is all you’ve given me. It’s hard not to see that.”

“Now, that’s just unfair.” Kuroo pushes his finger on the tip of Atsumu’s nose. “This is my apartment we’re living in. I gave you the roof over your head, mister.”

“I hate you,” Atsumu mutters, but they both know it’s not true.

It’s a tricky thing, to love a lover. They’d bring you stars from the night sky and weave them in your hair. Capture the entirety of the universe in the palm of their hand. Should you be captured by the devil, they’d brave the brimstone and flames of hell to bring you back in their embrace. Lovers know how to read you: make you hot chocolate when you're sad, hug you when you’re happy, talk you down when you’re angry. Lovers don’t touch you when you need space. Don’t force you in situations that bring you discomfort. Remember your birthdays when no one else did, share their food with you when you have nothing to eat, lift you up when you’re pulling yourself down. 

It’s a tricky thing, to love a lover. Tricky in the way that it often makes one feel inadequate. And yet it is also difficult not to love them. All lovers do, after all, is love. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you want more kuroatsu content, stay tuned for my kuroatsu series that's in the works! i'm @msbykuroo on twitter, if you want to reach me!


End file.
